They walked up the stairs from the kitchen, the old boards creaking under their tennis shoes. They sat cross-legged on the floor of what had probably once been a bedroom. Shattered glass and bricks from the fireplace lay strewn across the floor.
“Let’s see who can throw a brick closest to the fireplace without goin’ into the fireplace,” Rig suggested.
“OK,” Devon agreed.
They gathered up bricks from the floor and sat beside each other with their backs against the wall opposite the fireplace.
“Me first,” Devon said.
“Go ahead.”
Devon threw a brick towards the fireplace. It landed with a thud to the left of the hearth and broke into three pieces, two feet short of the hearth.
“Hah!” Rig laughed. “I can do better’n that.”
“Let’s see,” Devon challenged.
Rig threw his brick in a high arc, and it landed a foot in front of the hearth and shattered. “See? I told y—.”
“BOO!!” a voice shouted from the doorway.
Rig and Devon jumped as though they had been shot. Their hearts beat hard and fast in their chests.
“TRAVIS!!” Rig yelled to his fifteen-year-old brother, who was slouched against the door frame, with a cockeyed smile on his face. “You scared us to death!”
“You thought I was a ghost, dinja?”
“No,” Rig replied, “we just wasn’t expectin’ nobody to be here.”
“I been followin’ you kids since you left the grapevine.”
“Why diddenja say sump’n’?” Devon asked.
“‘Cause I wanted to scare ya,” Travis replied with a twinkle in his eye. “Whatcha doin’?”
“Seein’ who can git closest to the fireplace with a brick,” Rig stated.
“I think I can beat both o’ ya on the first try.”
“Yeah?” Devon asked skeptically. “Try it then.”
Travis picked up a brick from the floor, sat down beside them, and nonchalantly threw it overhand towards the fireplace. It exploded three inches in front of the fireplace. “See? Wha’d I tell ya?”
“You was just lucky,” Rig remarked.
“Ya think so, huh?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Watch this then.” He picked up another brick and threw it. It landed in the same place his first brick had exploded and broke in half. “Bingo! Home run again!”
“Alright,” Rig said grudgingly, “maybe you’re right.”
“Ain’t no maybe to it. You guys wanta do sump’n’ else?”
“Like what?” inquired Devon.
Travis brushed his black hair out of his eyes. “I doeknow. Let’s see what there is to do in the barn.”
As they walked through the tall weeds toward the barn, Travis asked, “You boys ever seen a pussy?”
“A what?” Devon asked.
“A pussy. You know, what a girl has between ‘er legs.”
“Oh,” Rig acknowledged, “what Dollie and Lurlene have.”
“I don’t mean our sisters, dumbass. I mean someone who ain’t our sister.”
“No,” Rig admitted.
“I seen Gloryann’s blossom when we take a bath together,” Devon chimed in.
“Her what?”
“Her blossom. Her . . . pussy.”
“Why d’ya call it that?”
“I doeknow. It’s just what we always call it.”
“Wha’da ya call your cock?”
“My what?”
“What you pee with.”
“Oh. My bird.”
“Your bird?” Travis laughed. “You got funny names for things.”
Devon had never thought about it. The idea that a person’s private parts had names other than “blossom” and “bird” was something he had not considered. This was something new.
“Ya know that’s how babies are made, don’tcha?”
Devon and Rig shook their heads no.
“Yeah, a boy puts his cock on the girl’s pussy, and BAM! Nine months later, ya got a baby. It’s called fuckin’.”
“Fuckin’?” repeated Rig.
They entered the dimness of the barn. “Yeah. Fuckin’. Let’s walk across one o’ them beams.” He pointed to the rough-hewn joists which supported the roof. “I’ll go first.”
On the south side of the barn, the remnants of a wooden ladder clung to the rickety wall. The third rung was missing, so Travis had to stretch his leg very high to reach the fourth. He had no trouble climbing to the top. He had to reach down to grasp Rig’s wrist and help him up, but Devon managed to pull himself up without help because he was taller than Rig. In the hayloft, most of the floorboards were hanging down or completely gone.
“If we stay on the beams we’ll be safe,” Travis advised. He walked cautiously and slowly on a beam to the center of the barn, balancing himself by extending his arms like a tightrope walker. He lifted his left leg off the beam and stretched it out behind him and then leaned forward so that his body was perpendicular to his leg. He made small hops towards the opposite wall. “I’m flyin’!” he exclaimed. He continued hopping until he made it all the way to the opposite wall, and then turned around. “Alright, Rig. Let’s see ya do that.”
“I can’t do that,” Rig proclaimed.
“Sure ya can. Whatsa matter, you chicken?”
“I ain’t chicken. I just don’t wanta do it.”
“Buh bock!” Travis chirped, emulating the sound of a chicken.
“Alright, I’ll show you,” Rig stated defiantly. He walked timidly out to the center of the beam and then looked cautiously down. Fifteen feet below lay the fallen planks of the hayloft and rusted iron wheels of ancient farm equipment. He raised one foot and steadied himself. After much hesitation, he managed to assume the same position that Travis had, but was unable to hop.
“I can’t go any farther,” he whined.
“C’mon,” Travis urged. “Don’t be a pussy.”
“I . . . I can’t do it!” Rig pleaded.
“OK. Just stand up and walk over then.”
He stood up and cautiously walked the rest of the way to Travis.
“You gonna try it, Dev?” Travis asked.
“Nah. I’m just gonna stay here.”
“Hah! You guys are sump’n’ else. Afraid o’ your own shadows.”
“I ain’t afraid,” Devon stated. “I just don’t wanta do it.”
“Bullshit! You guys are too chicken shit to try anything. I’m goin’ to Scotty’s. Move, Rig.”
Rig leaned sideways, holding onto a plank on the wall. Travis moved around him and ran across the beam. “Later, babies,” he said, as he climbed down the ladder and disappeared out the barn door.
Devon looked at Rig. “He’s mean, ain’t ‘e?”
“Yeah, sometimes,” Rig agreed. “Let’s go home.” He walked slowly back across the beam, and they descended the ladder.
They walked down the hill and along the creek, then east across a meadow towards the Sohio gas station on North Dixie Drive which was south of the two-story white clapboard house of Uncle Rufus and Aunt Uma. Aunt Uma was preparing her weekly pot of chili in the kitchen, the rich, tomatoey smell filling the whole house. “Supper’ll be ready in about half an ar,” she advised the boys as they came through the back screen door and let it slam. “An’ don’t slam that door!”
“Sorry, Mommy. Can we have sump’n’ to eat now?” Rig asked.
“You can have a Ritz cracker, but go upstairs and warsh your hands first.”
“OK. Let’s go, Dev.”
They walked upstairs towards the bathroom at the top of the stairs. They stopped outside Dollie and Lurlene’s bedroom to the right of the bathroom. Dollie was holding a pair of scissors with the blades open and pointing down towards an open Bible that lay on the floor. A ring hung from a long black thread between the handles of the scissors. She was kneeling and holding the scissors very still. The ring was swaying slowly back and forth above the Bible.
“Whatcha do
in’?” Rig inquired.
“None o’ your beeswax,” she replied sassily.
“We’re seein’ what our future holds,” Lurlene stated from the bed.
Dollie turned her head sharply towards the bed. “Lurl, do you hafta blab about our business to everybody?”
“It ain’t gonna hurt nothin’ to tell ‘em what we’re doin’.”
“You’re always spoilin’ things.”
“Am not!”
“Are too!”
“How does it work?” Devon asked.
“Well,” Dollie began, “you just ask a question, holdin’ the scissors very still, an’ if the answer to your question is no, the ring moves left an’ right in front o’ you. If the answer is yes, it moves back an’ forth away from your body.”
“Does it really work?” queried Devon.
“Course it does. You see it movin’, don’tcha? Just ask a question.” She handed the scissors to Devon and steadied the ring. “Be very still and ask it a question.”
“OK. Have we seen Travis today?” He held his hands as still as he could. The ring moved in a small circle, and then began to sway back and forth away from his body. A twinge of fear scurried up his spine. “That’s scary,” he whispered.
“What’s scary about it? It’s just God talkin’ to us. That’s what the Bible is for. When didjou see Travis?”
“Coupla minutes ago in the barn at the haunted house,” Rig said.
“Why didden ‘e come home?” Lurlene asked.
“Said he was goin’ to Scotty’s,” Rig stated.
“Scotty’s?” Lurlene said in amazement. “I thought they wasn’t friends no more.”
“That’s what he said,” Rig replied.
“OK. My turn,” Dollie announced, taking the scissors from Devon and steadying the ring. “Will I git married before I’m twenty?” The scissors swayed back and forth away from her body. “Neat!”
“Alright, young’uns, supper’s on!” Aunt Uma shouted up the stairs. “Warsh your hands.”
“Me first!” Rig announced, as he rushed to the bathroom. Devon was right behind him. They stood side by side at the sink and washed their hands. Rig dried his hands on his pants, but Devon used the towel on the shower door. Lurlene watched them from the doorway.
“Rig, you’re a pig,” she flatly stated.
“Takes one to know one,” Rig smiled, and ran down the steps. Devon followed him.
At the table, Uncle Rufus asked, “Where’s Travis?” He had a broad face, was of medium height, and had glossy black hair that was combed straight back.
“Young’uns say he went to Scotty’s,” Aunt Uma said as she stirred the chili on the stove with a ladle. Like Devon’s mother, Marie, she was pregnant. She began ladling the chili into bowls and placing them in front of the children at the table. The children sat quietly waiting.
“Scotty’s? I thought they wudden friends no more,” Uncle Rufus commented.
“All I know is what Rig an’ Devon said when they come in.”
“Well, he’s gonna git a whuppin’ for not bein’ here for supper,” Uncle Rufus declared. “He knows when supper time is. Whenjou boys see ‘im?”
“At the haunted house,” Rig said, and then corrected himself. “At the Collins’ house.”
“Whatchou boys foolin’ around back there for?”
“Jus’ playin’,” Rig said.
“Yeah, jus’ playin’,” Devon added.
“Ya gotta be careful back there. There’s lotsa ways you can git hurt. Let’s pray.”
All the children bowed their heads.
“Heavenly Father, we thank thee for this blessin’ we’re about to receive. May we always praise your holy name. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
“Amen,” echoed Aunt Uma.
The children reached for saltines on a plate in the middle of the table and began crumbling them into their chili. On another plate was a stack of Ritz crackers. Devon picked up two and spread Peter Pan peanut butter on one. When he was finished, he placed the other cracker atop the first and bit into it, the peanut butter oozing out the sides as he bit. The other children followed suit, either putting peanut butter or a slice of Velveeta cheese on the crackers.
“Mom,” Uncle Rufus said, looking directly at her, “you topped yourself again. I think this is the best chili you ever made, don’tchou kids?”
They all nodded in assent and some said, “Uh huh.”
After a dessert of banana pudding that was scooped into the same bowls from which they had eaten the chili, Devon and Rig went upstairs to Rig’s and Travis’s bedroom to watch TV. They had a small TV in their bedroom and a larger one in the living room downstairs. Devon always wondered why they weren’t going to hell because they owned a TV, but he wasn’t that concerned about his own fate because he found TV to be so mesmerizing. The Three Stooges were on. They were trying to sneak into a Hollywood studio to become rich and famous actors, but were continually being thrown out.
Uncle Rufus and Aunt Uma went to the A&P for next week’s groceries, leaving Lurlene, the oldest daughter, in charge. She was thirteen. She sat on her legs in the living room as she watched Shelley Fabares sing “Johnny Angel” on American Bandstand. Dollie sat beside her, but because she was two years younger, soon got bored, stood up, and went upstairs to her and Lurlene’s bedroom, across from the boys’ room. She got tired of asking the ring when she was going to get married and how many kids she was going to have and went across the hall to where Devon was watching TV and Rig was playing with Lincoln logs on the floor.
“Wanta play Monopoly?” she asked.
“OK,” Rig replied.
“Kay,” Devon mumbled reluctantly, as it was such a pleasure for him to watch TV.
Rig turned off the TV and they went into the girls’ bedroom. Dollie rummaged around in the walk-in closet and brought out a well-used Monopoly game. Rig chose the race car, Dollie, the thimble, and Devon, the dog. They played long enough for each of them to acquire some property and go to jail several times when Dollie announced, “I’m tard. I’m gonna take a nap.”
“Aw, c’mon, Dollie. We jus’ got started,” Rig whined.
“No,” she said, “I’m takin’ a nap.”
Rig asked, “Wanta keep playin’, Dev?”
“Alright.”
Dollie lay on the bed with her back towards the boys. She began breathing slowly and heavily within a minute.
“She went to sleep that quick?” Devon whispered to Rig.
Rig looked over at her. “I doeknow,” he whispered.
Dollie turned over so that she was facing them, her thin yellow dress hiking up, exposing her thin, white legs and pink panties with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on them.
Rig stood up and quietly walked over to her. He could see her eyes moving beneath her eyelids. Devon got up and stood beside him and looked down at her, her long brown hair splayed out on the pillow, her delicate hands supporting her pretty face, her small navel above the elastic band of her panties. Rig turned to Devon and smiled. “Let’s fuckin’ ‘er,” he whispered, his eyes glowing. Devon shook his head yes. Rig unzipped his pants and let them slide to the floor, stepped out of them, and then took off his underwear. His bird had grown long and hard, like the neck of an ostrich, and pointed straight up to the ceiling and lightly bounced off his abdomen. When Devon took off his pants and underwear, his bird was also long and hard, but extended downward, like a flamingo scavenging for shrimp. Neither boy had ever seen his bird become so rare and exotic. Rig leaned over and grasped Dollie’s panties at the sides and slowly began to pull them down. She rolled over onto her back and lifted her buttocks slightly so Rig could finish taking them off. Dollie could hardly keep her eyes closed. Her blossom had a few small, brown tendrils sprouting along the sides, which surprised Devon. The last time he had seen Dollie’s blossom, it had been smooth.
Rig climbed onto the bed and excitedly pushed the head of his bird down with his hand from where it was bouncing against his abdomen
until it lightly pecked at the tender petals of Dollie’s blossom. He looked at Devon and smiled and then eased himself off the bed. Devon climbed onto the bed and did what Rig had done, directing the head of his bird to touch her delicate blossom. A door slammed downstairs.
Devon quickly jumped off the bed. Dollie opened her eyes and saw both of their birds, which now were flagging from fear. Devon and Rig grabbed up their pants and underwear and ran across the hallway to Rig’s bedroom. Dollie sprang from the bed and quietly closed her door.
Travis walked into the living room where Lurlene was still watching American Bandstand. “Where’s Mommy and Daddy?” he asked.
“Went to A&P. You’re gonna git a whuppin’.”
“What for?”
“Not bein’ here for supper.”
“Damn! Wha’djou eat?”
“Chili. It’s still on the stove.”
“Where’s the kids?”
“Upstairs, I think.”
Travis sauntered into the kitchen.
After Rig and Devon had hurriedly put on their clothes, they both sat on the bed and pretended to watch TV, their pounding hearts slowly returning to normal. Rig walked out into the hallway and listened. He could hear nothing, so he called downstairs, “Who was it?”
Lurlene replied, “Wudden nobody, jus’ Travis. Whatchou doin’ up there?”
“Nothin’. Just watchin’ TV.”
A car pulled into the driveway and stopped in front of the garage. The back screen door opened and Uma came in. “Why wudden you here for supper?” she asked Travis, who was spooning chili into his mouth from the pot.
“I was at Scotty’s. I forgot.”
“You’re gonna pay for that. Go out an’ help your father with the groashries.”
Travis morosely went out the back door.
After they had brought eight bags full of groceries and set them on the table, Rufus took off his three-inch-wide leather belt and looked at Travis.
“Wha’d I tell ya about bein’ here for supper?”
“Not to be late.”
“And wha’djou do?”
“I was late. But I was at Scotty’s an’ I forgot about the time.”
“I DON’T WANTA HEAR NO EXCUSES!” Rufus yelled. “Long as you live under my roof, you’re gonna follow my rules! Come into the hallway. You’re gonna git a taste o’ hick’ry.”
Fiery Rivers Page 10
